A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

allative 19
the Donald Duck effect); the ‘oesophageal’ voice is characteristic of the speech
taught to people who have had their larynx surgically removed.
Aktionsart /akt}cvänswpt/ (n.), plural Aktionsarten
see aspect
alethic /vclipθ}k/ (adj.) A term derived from modal logic and used by some
linguists as part of a theoretical framework for the analysis of modal verbs
and related structures in language. Alethic modality is concerned with the
necessary or contingent truth of propositions, e.g. the use of the modal in the
sentence A triangle must have three sides, i.e. ‘It is impossible for a triangle not
to have three sides.’ It contrasts with epistemic and deontic modality, which
are concerned with obligation and knowledge, respectively.
algorithm (n.) An application in linguistics and phonetics of the general
use of this term in cybernetics, computing, etc., referring to a procedure which
applies mechanically in a finite number of precisely specified steps. Complex
operations may frequently be characterized as algorithms by breaking them
down into a sequence of simpler operations, as in the flow chart of a computer
program. The main use of algorithmic reasoning in linguistics is found in the
analytic statements of a generative grammar.
alienability (n.)
see alienable
alienable (adj.) A term used in grammatical analysis to refer to a type of
possessive relationship formally marked in some languages (e.g. Chinese). If a
possessed item is seen as having only a temporary or non-essential dependence
on a possessor, it is said to be ‘alienable’, whereas if its relationship to the possessor
is a permanent or necessary one, it is inalienable. Distinctions of alienable
possession (or alienability) are not morphologically marked in English,
but semantically the contrast can be seen in the boy’s book (alienable) and the
boy’s leg (inalienable).
ALIGN
see alignment
alignment (n.) (ALIGN) A family of constraints in optimality theory
requiring that the domain of a feature extends to the edge of a constituent
– either the right edge, or the left edge, or both. Alignment would be used to
handle such cases as a language where a feature of nasality appears only at the
left edge of a stem or root, or the right edge of a particular tone coincides
with the right edge of a syllable. Generalized alignment is a schema for
constraints which aligns (or anchors) elements in two strings. In relation to
morphology, for example, it handles the order of morphemes, requiring that
the edge of one constituent coincides with the edge of another, such as the right
edge of a reduplicant with the left edge of a base (i.e. thereby ensuring that
the reduplicant comes before the base).
allative (adj./n.) (all, ALL) A term used in grammatical description to refer
to a type of inflection which expresses the meaning of motion ‘to’ or ‘towards’
a place. The ‘allative case’ (‘the allative’) is found in Finnish, for example, along